JPH04341096A - Remote controller for equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To return the remote controller to normal operation by resetting a microcomputer without fail when an abnormal operation is generated in the microcomputer of the remote controller. CONSTITUTION:A microcomputer 43 connected with a controller 30 by a connection line 34 for power supply and signal transfer and operating on power to be supplied from a controller 30 and a communication circuit 44 are provided. A bath remote controller 41 sending an operation signal to the controller 30 in cooperation with signals to be sent intermittently from the controller 30 at the prescribed time interval is provided with a signal monitoring circuit 50 detecting continuous signals continuing for the constant time and a reset circuit 49 resetting the microcomputer 43. When the continuous signals are detected, the microcomputer 43 is reset.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control device provided as a remote control for giving operating instructions to equipment such as water heaters.

0002

[Prior Art] A remote control installed in a water heater, etc. is connected to a control device that controls the water heater through a connection line that also serves as power supply and signal transmission, and is equipped with a microcomputer that is operated by the power supply from the control device. It converts information for temperature settings and operation instructions into predetermined signals and sends them to the control device, and also receives display signals for displaying set temperatures and combustion from the control device, and performs predetermined displays. In such devices, each signal is transmitted using a connection line for power supply, so a signal from a control device and a signal from a remote control cannot be transmitted at the same time. For this reason, for example, in order to ensure that a signal from the remote control is sent in response to a signal sent from the control device, the signal sent from the control device is It is sent at predetermined time intervals with sufficient time,
The remote control receives a signal from the control device and sends out a signal containing operation information and the like. In addition, in order to prevent the microcontroller from running out of control, the remote control is equipped with a watchdog timer like a general microcontroller, and a reset operation is performed when the microcontroller runs out of control. To ensure reset operation,
One idea is to have a control device detect abnormal operation of the remote control, and when an abnormality occurs, temporarily stop power supply from the control device to the remote control, and reset the remote control by restarting the microcontroller when power supply resumes. There is.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] However, recently, in order to ensure more stable operation of the microcomputer in the remote control during a momentary power outage, or when the remote control is equipped with a microcomputer clock, In order to prevent the clock from resetting, microcontrollers are now equipped with backup capacitors, and these backup capacitors have larger capacitances to provide more stable backup in the event of momentary power outages. The microcomputer operates without resetting even in the event of a power outage of 2 to 3 seconds. In remote controllers equipped with such backup capacitors, as a measure to prevent the microcontroller from running out of control, in addition to a watchdog timer that resets the microcontroller in the event of a runaway, even if the power supply to the remote control is stopped, it takes time for the capacitor to discharge. Because of this, it is not possible to reset the remote control's microcontroller by simply shutting off the power supply. Therefore, if an abnormal operation occurs in the remote control such as a runaway that cannot be reset by the watchdog timer, there is a problem in that it is not possible to restore the control operation of the remote control to normal operation.

[0004] The present invention is a remote control device equipped with a microcomputer operated by power supply from the main unit, and when an abnormal operation occurs in the remote control, the microcomputer is reliably reset and the remote control can quickly return to normal control operation. The purpose is to restore it.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has a microcomputer and a communication circuit that are connected to a device by a connection line that also serves as power supply and signal transmission, and are operated by the power supplied from the device, A remote control device that transmits an operation signal to the device in response to a signal sent intermittently at predetermined time intervals from a remote control device, comprising: a continuous signal detection circuit that detects a continuous signal that continues for a certain period of time or more; and a microcomputer. and resetting means for resetting the microcomputer, the technical means being to reset the microcomputer when the continuous signal is detected.

[0006]

[Operation] In the present invention, during normal operation, the remote control device sends out signals in response to signals sent from the device at predetermined time intervals, but due to abnormal operation such as runaway, the remote control device sends out signals in response to signals from the device. It is conceivable that the signal cannot be sent out due to this relationship, and that the signal may be sent out regardless of the signal from the device, or a continuous signal may be sent out. If the microcontroller of the remote control device malfunctions, such as runaway, and the device detects an abnormality in the signal information sent from the remote control device, the device will send out a continuous signal that is different from the normal signal. do it like this. Then, in the remote control device, the continuous signal detection means detects the continuous signal, and the reset means resets the microcomputer. In this case, even if a signal unrelated to the device signal is generated due to abnormal operation of the remote control device, continuous signals from the device will be reliably transmitted to the remote control device, so the microcontroller of the remote control device can be can be reset to .

[0007]

According to the present invention, when the microcomputer of the remote control device malfunctions, it can be reliably reset by sending a continuous signal from the equipment side to reset the microcomputer of the remote control device. Further, since the signal for resetting is a continuous signal, there is no need to provide special reset information to the signal transmitted between the connection lines, so that the reset information can be reliably transmitted. Therefore, the operation of the remote control device can be quickly restored to normal operation.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the remote control device of the present invention will be explained based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. A gas water heater 1 with a hot water filling function shown in FIG. 2 supplies hot water to several hot water ports (not shown) and automatically fills a bathtub with hot water, and is controlled by a control device 30. The control device 30 performs mutual communication between the bath remote controller 41 and the main remote controller 42, performs hot water supply operation, automatic hot water filling operation, and hot water pouring operation according to the operation of each remote controller 41, 42, and performs hot water supply operation, automatic hot water filling operation, and hot water pouring operation in each operation. , performs combustion control and water flow control. In combustion control, when the hot water tap is opened or the hot water filling solenoid valve 15 is opened and it is detected that a predetermined water flow detection flow rate has become abnormal, ignition control is performed, and when ignition is detected, each Hot water temperature set by remote control and thermistor 12 installed in water pipe 11
, 13 and the flow rate sensor 14, and the amount of fuel gas supplied to the burner 3 is controlled based on it. Water flow control is performed by opening the hot water filling electromagnetic valve 15 only when the bath remote controller 41 issues an instruction to fill hot water and the flow rate sensor 14 detects that hot water is not being fed. Start pouring hot water. In addition, the bypass valve 16 is open during hot water filling operation or hot water pouring operation, and when the water flow switch 17 detects that hot water supply has started during these operations, the hot water filling solenoid valve is opened. 15 is closed to interrupt these operations, and when it is detected that hot water supply has ended, hot water filling operation or hot water pouring operation is restarted. In addition, in FIG. 2, 4 is a fuel supply path to the burner 3, and 5 is a fuel supply path to the burner 3.
18 is a heat exchanger heated by the burner 3; 18 is a hot water flow servo for adjusting the flow rate of water passing through the water pipe 11; Controlled in relation to opening and closing operations.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 30 mainly includes a microcomputer 31 for performing the above-mentioned control and a drive circuit 32 for driving each part of the gas water heater 1. It is equipped with a communication circuit 33 for communicating with 41 and 42, and each remote control 41
, 42 is 2 which also serves as a power supply line to each remote controller 41 and 42.
The control device 30 is connected to the communication circuit 33 through the core connection lines 34 and 35, and is provided with a switching circuit 36 for controlling power supply to each remote controller 41 and 42 via each connection line 34 and 35. It is being Further, a power supply circuit 37 is provided to supply power to each of these circuits, and when the power plug is connected to an outlet, the power supply circuit 37 supplies a predetermined voltage to each circuit.

Next, the configuration of each remote controller 41, 42 will be explained. Since the remote controllers 41 and 42 have substantially the same circuit configuration, only the bath remote controller 41 will be described here. As shown in FIG. 1, the bath remote control 41 consists of a microcomputer 43, a communication circuit 44 for communicating with the control device 30, a display circuit and a switch circuit (not shown), and a connection line 3.
4 is supplied to the communication circuit 44, and is also supplied to the microcomputer 43 and the backup capacitor 4 via the constant voltage circuit 45 and the diode 46.
7. The microcomputer 43 includes a watchdog timer (WDT) 48 that monitors the operation of the microcomputer 43 in order to recover from an abnormal operation of the microcomputer 43, and a reset circuit 49 that includes a reset IC that sends a reset signal to the reset terminal of the microcomputer 43. In addition, the microcomputer 43
In order to reliably return to normal operation in the event of runaway, a signal monitoring circuit 50 is provided that monitors the duration of the signal demodulated by the communication circuit 44.

The signal monitoring circuit 50, as shown in FIG.
A comparator 51 that determines whether there is a signal demodulated by the communication circuit 44, and a comparator that gradually charges a capacitor 52 when the output of the comparator 51 is at a high level, and quickly discharges it when it becomes a low level. 53, a comparator 54 that activates the reset circuit 49 when the charging voltage of the capacitor 52 becomes equal to or higher than the reference voltage, and a comparator 54 that activates the reset circuit 49 when the signal is demodulated in the communication circuit 44 for a certain period of time or more.
It forms a timer that operates. Signal monitoring circuit 50
When the control device 30 and the remote controllers 41 and 42 are operating normally, each communication signal does not continue for more than 30 msec, so if the signal is demodulated for more than 60 msec, the microcomputer 43 is reset. It is set as follows. As a result, the control device 30 and each remote controller 4
1 and 42 are operating normally, the charging voltage of the capacitor 52 in the signal monitoring circuit 50 increases while each communication signal appears on the connection lines 34 and 35, as shown in FIG. When the signal stops and there is no signal, the charge is discharged and the voltage quickly drops. Furthermore, if any signal appears on the connection lines 34 and 35 for 60 msec or more, the reference voltage for resetting will be exceeded, so the reset circuit 49 is activated and the microcomputer 43 is reset. Note that the reset circuit 49
is the watchdog timer 48 or the signal monitoring circuit 50
If there is any output, a reset signal is sent to the reset terminal of the microcomputer 43.

In the gas water heater 1 of this embodiment having the above configuration, signal exchange between the control device 30 and each remote controller 41, 42 is performed as follows. When the plug of the control device 30 is connected to an outlet, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 37 to each circuit of the control device 30. Furthermore, when the microcomputer 31 starts up with the startup of the power supply circuit 37, it controls the switching circuit 36 after 1.5 seconds to supply 12 V DC to each remote controller 41, 42 via each connection line 34, 35. Start power supply. After this power supply, 1.
After 0 seconds, a communication signal S1 modulated by a predetermined carrier wave of 400 kHz in the communication circuit 33 is transmitted from the control device 30 to each remote controller 41, 42 via each connection line 34, 35. The information included in the communication signal S1 includes the signal source, hot water supply temperature, hot water filling temperature, hot water filling amount, operation mode, remote control display data, and other parity check data. Contains each information of 30
A serial bit digital signal packetized for m seconds is modulated by a 400 KHz modulation wave in the communication circuit 33, and is intermittently transmitted at predetermined time intervals (0.2 seconds).

On the other hand, in each of the remote controllers 41 and 42, when power is supplied through the connection lines 34 and 35, each circuit starts up, and when the communication signal S1 from the control device 30 is received, the communication signal S1 is activated. It is determined whether or not each piece of information has been transmitted in the correct state, and if each piece of information has been transmitted in the correct state, the communication signals S2 and S3, which are packetized in exactly the same pattern as the above-mentioned communication signal S1, are Control device 30
It is transmitted in response to a communication signal S1 transmitted from. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, the communication signal S2 is transmitted from the bath remote control 41 40 m seconds after the communication signal S1 is transmitted from the control device 30, and further, the communication signal S2 is transmitted from the main remote control 42 40 m seconds after the transmission of the communication signal S2. A communication signal S3 is transmitted. Therefore, during normal operation, communication signals S1, 1 for 30 m seconds are transmitted on the connecting lines 34, 35.
No signal state for 0 m seconds, communication signal S2, 1 for 30 m seconds
No signal state for 0 m seconds, communication signal S3, 9 for 30 m seconds
A no-signal state for 0 msec appears in sequence, and thereafter, as long as the device operates normally, each communication signal S1, S2, S3 and each no-signal state appear alternately.

When the control device 30 receives the communication signals S2 and S3 transmitted from the respective remote controllers 41 and 42 in response to the communication signal S1 from the control device 30, the control device 30 also transmits each information using the communication signals S2 and S3. is transmitted correctly. Now, suppose that the bath remote control 41 does not operate normally and the communication signal S2 is sent out regardless of the sending of the communication signal S1, or is not sent out at all. It is determined that the data cannot be transmitted. In such a case, the control device 30 ignores the received communication signal S2 and controls the gas water heater 1 based on the information transmitted so far,
The transmission of the communication signal S1 is repeated at predetermined time intervals.

When the communication signal S1 sent from the control device 30 several times cannot receive the communication signal S2 from the bath remote control 41 at all, the control device 30 transmits the communication signal S1 to a predetermined signal. When the number of transmissions has been completed, the intermittent transmission of the packetized communication signal S1 is temporarily stopped, and the control device 30 sends out a continuous signal S0 to indicate that an abnormal operation of the remote controller has been detected. This continuous signal S0 is a communication signal S1 in which each necessary information is packetized.
This signal is unrelated to the above and does not include any of the above-mentioned predetermined information, and is a reset signal for stopping the abnormal operation of each remote controller 41, 42 and returning it to normal operation. Here, in the signal monitoring circuit 50, since the time for sending out the reset signal is 60 msec, for example, 0
．． Sends out a continuous signal S0 that lasts for 1 second. Control device 3
When the continuous signal S0 is sent from 0, the bath remote control 41
In the signal monitoring circuit 50, since the charging voltage of the capacitor 52 exceeds the reference voltage for resetting, a reset signal is sent to the reset circuit 49, and the microcomputer 43
is reset by the reset circuit 49 even if the watchdog timer 48 is not activated. Therefore, the microcomputer 43 of the bath remote controller 41 returns to normal operation, and if there is no abnormality in the hardware of the bath remote controller 41, it continues to operate normally. In the unlikely event that there is an abnormality in the hardware of the bath remote control 41 and it does not return to normal operation, subsequent control will be performed according to the stored information or the operation of the main remote control 42 that is considered to be normal. perform an action.

As described above, in the present invention, when a runaway occurs in the remote control, the microcomputer of the remote control can be reset by continuous signals from the control device 30, so that the remote control can be reliably restored to normal operation. Also,
In this embodiment, when resetting the microcomputer of the remote control in response to a communication signal that appears intermittently on the connection line during normal operation, it is reset by a continuous signal that continues on the connection line. Even if communication signals from the remote control are no longer transmitted due to this, or if signals are transmitted from the remote controller at a timing other than the predetermined timing with respect to the transmission signal S1 from the control device 30, these signals may interfere with the reset operation. The information for resetting can be transmitted to the remote control without causing any problems.

FIG. 8 shows a bath remote control 41 as a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same numbers as in FIG. 1 indicate the same parts or the same functional parts. In the first embodiment described above, the reset circuit 49 was used in the bath remote control 41 to give a reset signal to the reset terminal of the microcomputer 43, but in the second embodiment, when the continuous signal S0 is detected, The switching circuit 61 for stopping the power supply to the microcomputer 43 is opened, the power supply to the microcomputer 43 is stopped, and the microcomputer 43 itself is restarted by supplying power again after a predetermined period of time (for example, 2 to 5 seconds). I try to let them do it. In this case, in order to prevent the microcomputer 43 from being continuously supplied with power by the backup capacitor 47 when the power supply is stopped, a discharge circuit 62 is provided to discharge the charge of the capacitor 47, and this circuit is connected to the switching circuit. It is controlled by the output of the signal monitoring circuit 50 together with the circuit 61.

In the above embodiment, a remote control for a gas water heater was shown as an example, but a water heater equipped with an oil burner or one using electric heating may also be used. It can also be used as a remote control device for air conditioners such as heaters and air conditioners.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of a bath remote control in a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration of a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control device for a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing a signal monitoring circuit for a bath remote control in a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram of a voltage waveform of a capacitor in a signal monitoring circuit during normal operation of a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a waveform diagram of a voltage waveform of a capacitor in a signal monitoring circuit during abnormal operation of a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram showing waveforms on a connection line during normal operation of a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of a bath remote control in a gas water heater according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Gas water heater (equipment) 34 Connection line 41 Bath remote control (remote control device) 43 Microcomputer 44 Communication circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1: A microcomputer and a communication circuit that are connected to a device by a connection line that serves both for power supply and signal transmission, and are operated by the power supplied from the device, and that are connected intermittently from the device at predetermined time intervals. A remote control device that transmits an operation signal to the device in response to a transmitted signal includes a continuous signal detection circuit that detects a continuous signal that continues for a certain period of time or more, and a reset means for resetting the microcomputer. A remote control device for equipment, wherein the microcomputer is reset when the continuous signal is detected.